The invention relates particularly to the production of emulsions in which an aqueous phase and then an oil phase are mixed together. More particularly this invention relates to edible emulsions such as dressings for foods, for example, salad dressings, creamy Italian dressings, cheese dressings, French dressings and the like. In preparing edible emulsions it is important that they be prepared so that the aqueous and oil phases are resistant to separation. Of critical importance when a dry mix is combined with the aqueous phase and then the oil phase to form an emulsion is that the emulsion be stable and resistant to separation even over variations in the ratio of aqueous solution to oil used to prepare the emulsion. In this way the consumer when preparing an emulsion from the dry mix will be able to obtain a stable emulsion even with preparation variations (i.e., variation in the aqueous to oil ratio).
While the use of gums to form emulsions is known in the art (e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,944,906, 3,067,038, and 3,676,157) their use has generally been severely restricted in dry mixes due to their inability to form stable emulsions which are resistant to separation over variations in the aqueous to oil ratio. It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that when a salad dressing is desired the resultant emulsions should be homogeneous, creamy and viscous, but without at the same time increasing the viscosity to the point where pouring is impaired.